Drawer construction



1955 N. H. FRANKS I DRAWER couswaucnon Filed 001;. 26, 1951 ATTORNEY wzkjzw,

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United States Patent DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Norvin H. Franks, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 26, 1951, Serial No. 253,380

2 Claims. (Cl. 312263) This invention relates to a drawer construction and more particularly to a drawer for use in work benches, cabinets and the like, which can be shipped in knocked down condition and can easily be assembled and mounted.

In providing drawers for work benches, cabinets and the like, it has heretofore been necessary for the user to build his own drawer from wood or the like or to purchase a completely assembled drawer. drawers, whether handled separately or as a part of a completely assembled unit are extremely bulky so that they are awkward to handle and expensive to ship. Drawers as heretofore constructed do not lend themselves to knocked down shipment since the assembly thereof is diflicult and requires a relatively high degree of skill.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a drawer which can be stored, shipped in knocked down condition and can easily be assembled without requiring any particular degree of skill.

Another object is to provide a drawer which is formed entirely or almost entirely of sheet metal to produce an extremely sturdy construction.

A preferred embodiment has the front, back and sides of sheet metal and the bottom is preferably of wood pressed board or the like. The guides in which the drawer slide are also preferably formed of sheet metal.

A further object is to provide a drawer construction in which the drawer is slidably supported adjacent its top in supporting strips which can easily be fastened to the bottom of a table or other frame structure.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent when viewed in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled drawer embodying the invention with the supporting strips omitted;

Figure 2 is a disassembled perspective view of the drawer;

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial section showing connection of the side members to the end members;

Figure 4 is a partial transverse section at one side of the drawer; and

Figure 5 is a section through the front of the drawer.

The drawer as shown comprises a pair of side members formed of sheet metal and preferably corrugated throughout their length as indicated at 11 for increased rigidity. Each side member is formed at its ends with mounting extensions 12 which are of less height than the side members and which are offset outward thereof as shown. The mounting extensions 12 are preferably provided with openings therethrough to receive fastenings such as bolts, sheet metal screws or the like.

At the bottom each side member is offset outwardly and bent into a channel section 13 to form an inwardly facing groove. At its top, each side member is rolled over into an outwardly projecting bead 14 to provide a smooth top edge for the drawer to support the drawer as explained more fully hereinafter.

The side members are identical and are arranged with the open channel sections 13 facing each other as shown. The bottom 15 which may be of wood, pressed wood or like material is mounted with its edges lying in the channels 13 as shown in detail in Figure 4.

The front of the drawer is closed by a front member formed of sheet metal with a flat front panel 16 having integral end flanges 17 projecting inward therefrom to overlie the front mounting extensions 12. The flanges Assembled.

2,701,174 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 "ice 17 are formed with openings to register with the openings in the mounting extensions 12 so that bolts 18, sheet metal screws or other similar fastenings may be fitted therethrough to secure the parts rigidly together. The front panel 16, as best seen in Figure 5 is of greater height than the side members 10 to cover completely the front of the drawer to present a pleasing appearance and also to function as a stop to limit sliding movement of the drawer. At its top and bottom the panel 16 is formed with horizontal inwardly extending flanges 19 which terminate at their inner edges in vertical flanges 21. The vertical flanges 21 extend toward and preferably engage the side members 10 as shown in Figure 5 to close the top and bottom of the drawer so that smooth surfaces will be presented to be grasped by the user.

The back of the drawer is closed by a back member formed'of sheet metal and including a flat back panel 22 which is of less height than the side members. At its ends the back panel is formed with end flanges 23 which overlie the mounting extensions 12 at the rear of the side members and which may be secured thereto by bolts, sheet metal screws or the like such as shown at 18. At its top and bottom the back panel is formed with integral horizontal flanges 24, the bottom flange preferably underlying the bottom 15 to assist in supporting it. The top flange 24 fits over the upper edges of the mounting extensions 12 and lies below the supporting beads 14 so that the rear ends of the supporting beads are exposed.

To support the drawer, a pair of channel shaped supporting strips 25 are provided which are mounted in horizontally spaced relationship by means of fastening screws or the like extending through openings 26 in the upper horizontal sides of the channels. The lower horizontal sides or flanges of the channels as shown at 27 lie spaced from and facing each other and are so positioned that when the drawer is slid between the supporting strips the beads 14 will rest slidably on the flanges 27 as illustrated in Figure 4.

With this construction the drawer can be shipped in completely knocked down condition and can easily be assembled without the use of any tools other than a screw driver simply by putting the parts together and inserting the fastenings 18 at the corners of the drawer. The supporting strips 25 can be mounted in properly spaced relationship on the bottom of a work bench top or on the lower surface of any other desired framework. The drawer can then be slipped between the supporting strips with the beads 14 resting on the flanges 27 thereof due to the fact that the rear ends of the beads are fully exposed. When so mounted, the drawer can easily be slide on the supporting strips from a fully opened position to a fully closed position in which the upper front flange 21 abuts the forward ends of the supporting strips. When assembled it will be apparent that the drawer is extremely strong and rigid since all of the parts mutually brace each other.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not intended as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A drawer construction comprising a pair of identical substantially flat side members each formed of sheet metal with a channel section at its bottom defining an inwardly opening groove and a rolled bead extending outward at its top, mounting extensions of less height than the side members projecting from the ends of the side members and parallel to the planes of the side members, a flat bottom fitting in the grooves, a front having end flanges fitting over and secured to the mounting extensions at the front of the side members and a bottom flange underlying the front of the bottom, and a back having end flanges fitting over and secured to the mounting extensions at the rear of the side members and a bottom flange underlying the rear end of the bottom, the back being shorter than the side members to terminate beneath the rolled beads.

2. A drawer construction comprising a pair of identical substantially flat side members each formed of sheet metal with a channel section at its bottom defining an inwardly opening groove and a rolled bead extending outward at its top, mounting extensions of less height than the side members projecting from the ends of the side members and parallel to the planes of the side members, a flat bottom fitting in the grooves, a front formed of sheet metal with a flat front panel higher than the side members and longer than the space between them, end flanges overlying and secured to the mounting extensions at the front of the side members, the mounting extensions being oflset outwardly to engage the end flanges, top and bottom flanges extending horizontally and then vertically toward the side members, a back formed of sheet metal with a fiat back panel of less height than the side members to terminate below the rolled beads, end flanges overlying and secured to the mounting extensions at the back of the side members, and a bottom flange underlying the bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 948,378 Prouty Feb. 8, 1910 1,222,451 Ohnstrand Apr. 10, 1917 1,290,743 Herpst Jan. 7, 1919 1,330,936 Erickson Feb. 17, 1920 1,352,002 Jones Sept. 7, 1920 

